Manifolding



April 7, 1936. w BRENN 2,036,960

MANIFOLDING Filed Dec. 3, 1925 JNVENTOR. Card Wfiremz,

AT ORNEY Patented 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MANIFOLDING Application December 3, 1925, Serial Not 72,921

4 Claims. (01.282-12) This invention relates to manifolding, and more particularly to worksheets used in making original and duplicate copies.

Heretofore, it has been the practice to supply and use worksheets of considerable length comprising, in succession, a relatively large number of printed forms or sheet lengths superposed upon one another so that in use, by the interpositiom'ng of transfer material such as carbon paper, between the superposed worksheets, manifold copies could be made on the form or sheet lengths one after another continuously without necessitating the separate handling of the individual forms or sheet lengths.

15 In order that the superposed worksheets might beheld together in predetermined relation to each other, for instance, in alignment and registration, it was the practice to make the superposed worksheet from a single web of paper and fold the web with one strip of forms upon the other in the manner of folding a fan and producing what is termed fan-fold stationery.

It has also been proposed to paste or otherwise fasten separate continuous strips of forms together, so that at one side edge, the ,pile of strips would be held together. Such stationery will be termed book-fold stationery.

In both of the fan-fold and the book-fold type .of stationary, the strips, because of the fact that they are only attached to each other at one side edge, have considerable freedom of relative movement, and, therefore, permit a disalinement or lack of registration of one form relative to its companion superposed form. This condition existed because, to interpose carbon sheets between the superposed strips and shift them from form to form, it was necessary to allow one side edge between each two forms to- Hence, at the very point where registration and alinement was most essential, i. e. at the writing point the strips were free to shift sidewise relatively, and this caused disalinement and lack of registration.

The present invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing a pack of stationery comprising superposed worksheets and inter posed carbon sheets with the worksheets secured at both side edges so as to hold them in registration and alinement and to confine, or make captive in the pile, the int rp sed carbon strips.

to transversely fold the pile of worksheets in.

zigzag form so that a compact pack of stationery will be provided. To prevent the zigzag folded pack of stationery from falling over, it is usually placed in a box or other'container.

The present invention avoids the necessity of providing a container or support for the pack of zigzag folded stationery by. uniting. preferably by an adhesive, all of the side edges of the worksheets in zigzag folded form so as to provide a single unitary pack. This adhesive is preferably such. that will part or separate when the superposed layers of the pack are pulled from the body of the pack as the stationery is being consumed.

The provision of adhesive between the superposed strips to hold them together and to hold the carbon sheets captive between them and the provision of the adhesive for holding the zigzag pack of worksheets together may be accomplished by separate operations. But, in practicing the present invention, it has been found that both. these provisions maybe made at asingle operation.

Accordingly, the. present invention also comprises a method of making a pack of stationery which consists in collating the workstrips and carbon strips, folding them zigzag so as, to provide a pile or pack, pressing the pack so as to bring the side edges of the worksheet in a zigzag form close'together, and then applying a layer of adhesive material upon the side edges 45 0% the pack.

In cases where it is important to have each form and itsv companion form in absolute alinement, the worksheets are provided with alining apertures which may be received upon suitable 50 pins after the strips are collated and before the side edges of the worksheets are closely brought together. These pins correct the inaccuracies of registration which are produced at the folds of the pile. I 5

Other features and advantages hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawing, which illus trates the present invention and the apparatus which may be usedfor assisting in carrying out the methods herein disclosed- Figure l is a perspective view of the pad of worksheets provided by the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevation showing apparatus for bringing the side edges of the pack together, and also showing means for applying the adhesive to the side edges.

Fig. 3 is an exaggerated sectional view, showing several superposed worksheets in their superposed pack relation.

Fig. 4 is a view of the modification.

In the accompanying drawing, the pack oi stationery is shown as comprising a top-sheet I and an under-sheet 2, both of which may have printed lines 3 and spaces 4 which are adapted to receive indicia relating to an order, sale, or

the like. Between the top-sheet I and the un der-sheet 2, there is interposed a carbon or transfer sheet 5 so that original writing produced upon the sheet I will be transferred to the sheet 2 by means of the carbon sheet 5.

Preferably, a pile is formed of the superposed worksheets I and 2 and the interposed carbon sheet 5, each of which consists of a strip of indefinite length folded along lines 6 which is at the point where one form joins with the next.

In order to hold the sheets in accurate alinement and registration with each other, the present invention provides, along bothside edges of sheets, a suflicient mass of adhesive material I to hold the sheets firmly together and to confine between them the carbon strip 5. This adhesive material may be applied to the edges of the superposed sheets I and 2 before they are zigzag folded, but, in order to economically do this and at the same time connect together the layers of the zigzag folded pile, the present invention provides the following method:

First, the worksheets I and 2 with the interposed carbon strip 5 are collated. Then, the superposed carbon and worksheets are folded transversely in zigzag form preferably along the lines 6, which are usually perforated and which facilitate the folding operation. Then the zigzag folded pack is pressed together preferably in a press 8 so as to bring the side edges of the worksheets into close contact with each other. Finally, the side edges of the pack are provided with a coating of adhesive material I, for instance, by a brush 9 while the pack is held compressed in the press 8. The adhesive is allowed to dry and the pack is then removed from thepress, ready for use.

In using the pack of stationery provided by the present invention, the uppermost layer of the zigzag folded pack comprising the top-sheet I and the under-sheet 2 and the confined carbon sheet 5 is removed from the pack. By simply pulling this end of the pack from the remainder, each set of forms is stripped from the other sets still remaining en bloc and as the strips are drawn from the pack they carry with them a part of the adhesive material which is upon their particular side edges. The result is that the top and bottom strips of the set of forms removed from the packare still held together by the adhesive along their side edges. In this condition, the end of the strip may be placed in a typewriting machine or manifolding register or other writing machine hesive material uniting them again splitting so that each sheet carries on its side edge only a very small amount of adhesive material.

The worksheets provided by this invention comprising superposed workstrips with interposed carbon sheets can be used in cases where it would be impractical or undesirable to provide, upon the back of one of the worksheets, a coating of carbon materials to be used to transfer impressions to the under-sheet. With the pack of the present invention, the backs of both sheets may be clean, i. e. unprinted, or may be provided with printing, if desired.

It has been found that in zigzag folding the continuous worksheets, there is always a slight disalinement between successive forms due to the fact that the sheets are slightly ofif-set at the points of folding.

To avoid this off-set in cases where it is desired to have the strips in absolute alinement, the present invention provides means for alining and registering the strips. This means comprises apertures or perforations Ill provided in the body of the forms. The perforated strips I and 2 and the carbon strip 5 are adapted to be placed upon collating or alining pins II carried by a suitable base I2 before the zigzag folded pack is compressed to permitadhesive material to be applied to its side edges.

If desired, the pack may consist of a single sheet of paper, as shown in Fig. 4, in which the strip I3 is folded longitudinally upon itself. In this case, the carbon strip 5 is placed between the folds of the sheet, and after the strip is zigzag folded, a coating of adhesive material I is applied only to that side of the pile of sheets which comprise the unfolded edges of the strip. The adhesive coating may be applied, however, to the other side edges of the pack, if desired.

Variations and modifications may be made in accordance with this invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to obtain Letters Patent, is:

1. A manifolding pile comprising a plurality of physically separate. continuous worksheet strips; a. continuous carbon strip between each two worksheet strips running with said worksheets in interleaved relation; and means located along both side edges of the pile of strips for holding the worksheet strips of the pile together with the carbon strip or strips and in registration preparatory to, during, and subsequent to the operation of writing upon said worksheet strips.

'2. A manifolding pile comprising a plurality of continuous worksheet strips and a continuous carbon strip interposed between two adjacent worksheet strips, the carbon strip being shaped to provide zones of face-to-face direct contact of adjacent worksheet strips with each other at both lateral margins of the pile; and means located in each of said zones of direct contact for securing adjacent worksheet strips together,

said means being adapted to restrict lateral shifting movements of the carbon strip in the pile.

3. A manifolding pile comprising a plurality of continuous worksheet strips and a continuous carbon strip interposed between two adjacent worksheet strips, the carbon strip being shaped to provide zones of face-to-face direct contact of adjacent worksheet strips with each other at at least one lateral margin of the pile; and means located in said zones of direct contact for securing adjacent worksheet strips together, said means being adapted to restrict lateral shifting movements of the carbon strip in the pile.

4. A manifolding pack comprising a pile of continuous record and carbon strips interleavedwith each other, the pile being folded zigzag at uniform intervals to form a pack; and a coating of adhesive material applied to both edges of the pile of folded strips to hold the strips of the pile together and to hold the layers of the zig- 10 until ready for use.

zag folded pack together CARL W. BRENN. 

